15 Apr partially-demolished 1880’s chicago presbyterian hospital building facade ornament awaiting rescue

the daniel a. jones building, built as a wing of the presbyterian hospital complex in 1888, is slowly being erased from chicago’s urban landscape, but i believe there is hope – in the form of a heavy duty onsite “cherry picker.” this machine, with its extensive boom, will likely be used as the primary work platform for extracting any and all ornament (e.g., red terra cotta panels, carved limestone, etc.) remaining on the hospital structure’s facade.

with everything else surrounding this section of facade reduced to rubble, there is a good chance that the ornament will be saved – all of it. the group of images in this gallery offer a detailed glimpse of the arrangement of ornament “in situ” shortly before being plucked off the building.

the slightly recessed, heavily ornamented terra cotta panels might be a bit of challenge to remove from the front, since they are tightly flanked by a top and bottom limestone string course. if the panels are thin and delicate, and the cavities and anchors were exposed to moisture, there is a good chance they will break apart.